Lyoness Open 2017: Felipe Aguilar Shoots 7-Under to Grab Lead on Thursday

Felipe Aguilar fired a seven-under 65 to grab control of the lead following Thursday's first round of the 2017 Lyoness Open at Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, Austria. 

Jaco Van Zyl, Johan Carlsson and Ashley Chesters are tied for second in the European Tour event after finishing the opening round at five-under par. In all, there are 32 members of the chase pack within five shots of the top spot after 18 holes.

Here's a look at the top performers on the Day 1 leaderboard:

1 (-7): Felipe Aguilar

T-2 (-5): Jaco Van Zyl; Johan Carlsson; Ashley Chesters

T-5 (-4): Graeme Storm; Oliver Wilson; Joel Stalter

Aguilar's strong showing in the first round is a considerable surprise based on his form so far in 2017. He entered the week having made 11 starts and he failed to record a single finish inside the top 40. He also missed six cuts over that span.

The 42-year-old Chilean veteran was locked in throughout Thursday's round, though. He carded eight birdies and a single bogey, which came on the par-four 11th.

His 65 is the lowest first-round score he's posted since finishing with the same total the 2014 Championship at Laguna National. He went on to win that event.

Bernd Wiesberger, the 2012 winner of this tournament, kept pace with Aguilar for most of the day. He started on the back nine and was five-under par through 12 on the strength of a four-hole birdie streak starting on the 15th.

The Austria native limped to the finish line, however, playing the final six holes in three-over, including a costly double bogey on the eighth.

"Some of the best golf I have ever played over the first 12 holes but, as always, golf is played over 18," he wrote on Facebook. "Very disappointing finish to my round but I am sure we will get a few back tomorrow and over the weekend at the Lyoness Open."

Meanwhile, Brett Rumford provided a candidate for Shot of the Day by nearly acing the 14th during his one-under round, as the European Tour highlighted:

Looking ahead, Aguilar has a chance to run away with the event if he strikes the ball all week as purely as he did Thursday, but that's unlikely. His only other sub-70 opening round this year came at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and he immediately faded with a 76 in Round 2.

The combination of an unlikely leader and a crowded leaderboard should make for a whirlwind Friday at Diamond Country Club.